Keepers of the Underworld

Chapter 13

Sephi stepped forward and said, “Darius, before you say anything else, is it about our work or Melanie?”

“Work, my queen,” Darius replied with a shy smile from the doorstep. “I assure you Melanie is fine.”

“Come in, Darius,” Dee said as he waved the man inside. “Would you like something to eat? We have plenty, and it might soften the blow of whatever you are about to tell us. That and I always feel bad when we eat in front of you.”

“Only if you are sure there is enough,” Darius told him.

“Of course there is,” Sephi said with a laugh. “We both know Dee ordered twice the amount that we will eat. That way, he can have his midnight snacks.”

“Excuse me, but who joined me in midnight snacking last night and the night before?” Dee chuckled as he unpacked their meal, and Sephi filled their plates.

Soon, they were sitting at the table, ready to eat. Sephi poured wine from a decanter for each of them before she sat down. Both men waited for her to take a bite before they began.

Sephi giggled, “You two are just too much sometimes. I would not be upset if you took a bite before me.”

“That might be, but you are our queen. That means we do not eat until you eat,” Darius told her.

“Hmmf,” Sephi grunted as she took a sip of wine. “Tell us what is so important, Darius. I have the feeling it involves Travis Collins.”

“Yes, my queen, it does,” Darius said. “Everything that I have found indicates that Travis was not driving. I haven’t pinned down whether it was his brother or cousin yet, but I am positive it was not Travis.”

“That means they are letting him take the fall for killing people in a crash because they most likely thought he would die,” Dee fumed. “Just when I think they can not be more despicable, they find a way.”

“We need to speak with Travis and find out what happened that day,” Sephi said.

“We might need Melanie to help us with him and his family. She can take one or both of us into his dreams so we can have that conversation,” Dee said.

“While I do not like the thought of Melanie doing that, I think that would be best, my king,” Darius agreed.

“Call her. That way, we can get this out of the way,” Dee instructed as he ate.

“Yes, my king,” Darius said as he pulled his phone out and began to dial.

“And stop with the my king and my queen stuff,” Dee said, shaking his head. “You have been very formal since you told us about Melanie. Try to relax. Nothing has changed, and we trust you with our daughter. If we didn’t, you would have disappeared the instant you told us about it.”

Darius grinned a little and said, “Yes, Dee.”

He finished dialing the number and took a few quick bites before Melanie answered.

“Hi, Babe! What’s up?” Melanie asked.

Darius choked on the bite of food in his mouth, making Sephi and Dee laugh. “I’m with your parents.”

“Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad. What’s going on?” Melanie chirped.

“Would you be able to come to the house tonight? We need to discuss something that we need your help with,” Dee told his daughter.

“I’ll be there in a few minutes. Make sure Darius doesn’t run off. He gets shy when I get near him unless we are in private, “Melanie laughed.

“We are forcing him to eat dinner with us right now. Hurry, or we will eat all the baklava before you get here,” Sephi laughed.

“Why didn’t you say that to start with? I’m on my way,” Melanie giggled before she hung up.

Dee grinned at Darius as he put his phone away. “Darius, if your complexion were a little lighter, I am positive we could see you blushing because of my daughter,” he smirked.

“Leave him alone!” Sephi scolded her husband. “I think it is sweet. Darius has always watched over both of our children, and I can not think of anyone I would trust more with Melanie than him.”

“I promise you, my love, I feel the same as you. I hope Darius knows that and understands I am only teasing him a bit, the same as I would our children. If things progress with Melanie, Darius will become our son, and I will welcome him with open arms,” Dee said with a smile.

“You would?” Darius asked, surprised by what Dee had said.

“We both would,” Sephi told Darius as she placed her hand on his arm. “You have been a member of our family for a long time, even before this. We trust you more than anyone else. That is why we task you with the things we do. Now, eat so we can be ready for dessert when Melanie arrives. Keep your fingers crossed that Dee ordered plenty, or she will eat it all.”

The trio ate in relative silence as they waited for Melanie to arrive. They had just finished dinner when the front door opened, and Melanie breezed in. She headed straight to the table where Darius sat, grabbed his face, and kissed him deeply.

Darius froze as she kissed him, nearing panic when he heard Dee and Sephi begin to laugh at his situation. Melanie broke off the kiss and smiled at him.

“You have got to learn to relax. You already know that Dad is not going to kill you or banish you to the depths of the underworld, never to be seen again,” Melanie told Darius as she sat beside him.

“We tried to tell him that before you got here, but I’m not sure that he believes us,” Dee grinned. “Would you like some chocolate hazelnut baklava to enjoy while we discuss what we need?”

“Do you really need to ask that?” Melanie asked as she took the plate he offered. “So, tell me what is going on. Something tells me you need me to snoop in someone’s dreams.”

“Something like that,” Sephi confirmed. “Darius already spoke with you about going into the dreams of the relatives of Travis, one of our residents. However, after what Darius has discovered, we need to speak with Travis, and the only way will be in his dreams.”

“Of course, I will help you, but I want all the details above what Darius has already told me,” Melanie said.

“One of our residents is accused of running from police and causing a crash that killed several people, including a family,” Sephi sighed. She saw Melanie wrinkle her nose and continued, “We do not believe he was driving. Darius has found evidence that it was either his cousin or his brother. Travis, our resident, is in a vegetative state and declining quickly. Your father and I have seen him react to things that are said, and we are positive he can understand. We need to know the truth, and Travis is the only one who will give it to us.”

“And you want me to take the two of you into Travis’ dreams so you can talk to him,” Melanie concluded.

“Please,” Sephi said. “At least one of us. I know how draining it can be for you to take someone with you into another's dreams. We would not ask you to do this if we had any other option.”

“Melanie, I promise you, if there were any other way to do this, we would do it,” Dee told his daughter.

“I will do it, but I have conditions,” Melanie said with a dramatic pause. “We have to go to the boardwalk and beach as a family. This will include Darius, and you, my loving father, will quit teasing and trying to scare him. If Zach doesn’t want to come, that is fine, but I think he will after he finds out Darius is there. Do we have a deal?”

“Deal,” Dee said as he shook Melanie’s hand.

“Perfect! When do you want to do this? Since you are both wearing your robes, I feel you have other plans for tonight. What day do you want to do it?” Melanie asked.

“As much as I don’t want to do it tonight, it would be the best option,” Sephi frowned. “Travis is the priority. Speaking to him tonight is more important than our plans.”

“Then let’s finish our dessert and go have a chat with Travis,” Melanie said with a smile.